How to Use Ikea Trash to Give a Unique, Dramatic Look to Your Scene

There are many ways to achieve professional looking images using DIY techniques on a budget. We have heard many interesting stories over the years. However, we admit we didn’t expect this particular one by any stretch of the imagination.

Lighting a scene with Ikea trash could be really challenging for many professionals. The director, David Sanburg, proves the opposite. In the beginning of his career, he started borrowing his father’s VHSC camera to make films with friends and family.

In the 2 minute short horror film, Not So Fast, after spending his money to buy gear (a Blackmagic Cinema Camera), David used successfully some household products, including an IKEA trash can to light his scene. He also used an Ikea shelf to creat a dolly that produced pleasing and smooth results.

This is something that we can often see on low-budget set ups. There is nothing wrong with imaginative low cost solutions as long as the final result is satisfying and the mood the director aims at in the first place is achieved. Now let’s see the finished product.

This case is another great example of how any filmmaker can achieve great results using cheap stuff that he/she has at his/her disposal. No one would argue with the way you shoot your film as long as it looks great and demanding on-screen. You really don’t have to spend lots of money to buy the most expensive professional tools in order to achieve a certain look or mood. This is the beauty of indie filmmaking and one of the main reasons why many of us are so involved and attracted by this visionary art.

Further, I do believe that shooting moving images on a low budget using cheap non-traditional filmmaking solutions develops the professional skills of every indie filmmaker and makes him/her more experienced and creative. Again, the most important thing that really matters is not the tools but the people who use them.

Here’s another short movie of David Sanburg, another great example of his work:

Winner of ‘Best Short’ at Bilbao Fantasy Film Festival 2014 fantbilbao.net/Fant2014/Winner of ‘Best Director’ in thebchorrorchallenge.com

In many situations, budget, technical and other restrictions/ limitations force story-tellers to think outside of the box in order to accomplish certain look or vision. Ultimately, this is how we become confident in what we love doing.

There are many DIY techniques that can help us in different shooting situations. Guys, do you have favourite DIY filmmaking solutions you would like to share with us?